Whether working through your retirement years is an aspiration or a necessity, it doesn’t hurt to have some help with financial planning when considering that aspect of your future. As you set your goals, you might be interested in the fact that there are certain cities in which the senior participation in the labor force has grown more than in others in recent years.
To see where these places are located, SmartAsset gathered and analyzed data for the 100 cities in America with the largest senior populations. Specifically, we compared the senior labor force participation rate for 2014 and 2017 for these cities. For details about data sources and how we put all the information together to create our final rankings, see the Data and Methodology section below.
This is SmartAsset’s second study on where seniors are staying in the workforce. Read our 2018 study here.
Key Findings
- Overall uptick across all cities in our study. Of the 100 cities we surveyed, more than 60% had at least some growth in the senior labor force participation rate.
- Significant variation in the top 10. All but one of the top 10 cities in this year’s study are different from our 2018 study. The one repeat city in the top 10 is St. Paul, Minnesota. Additionally, this year’s top 10 cities saw an increase in the senior labor force participation rate of 5.3% on average, compared to last year’s increase of 3.1% on average across the top 10 cities.
1. Toledo, OH
Toledo tops this list with a growth of approximately 6.6 percentage points between 2013 and 2017 for senior labor force participation rate, according to Census Bureau data. The rate grew from 11.1% to 17.6%. A paycheck calculator might come in handy to estimate your take-home pay.
2. Washington, DC
Washington, D.C. ranks No. 2 on our list. In 2013, the nation’s capital had a senior labor force participation rate of approximately 21.5%. That number had increased by about 6.4 percentage points to 27.9% by 2017.
3. Plano, TX
Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, makes it into the top three cities where seniors are staying in the workforce more. Plano had a senior labor force participation rate of approximately 22.4% in 2013. It was 28.5% in 2017, an increase of about six percentage points. Plano is also one of the 2019 cities where women are most successful.
4. Huntsville, AL
Huntsville, Alabama ranks fourth in our study. The city had a senior labor force participation rate of about 14% in 2013 and about 19.7% in 2017. That’s a jump of approximately 5.7 percentage points.
5. St. Paul, MN
Coming in at No. 5 – the same ranking it had in our 2018 study on this subject – is St. Paul, Minnesota. Around 20% of St. Paul seniors were part of the labor force in 2013. That number grew to approximately 25.3% in 2017, a total increase of about 5.3 percentage points. There’s more good news for those still racing into their retirement years: St. Paul is one of the best cities for runners, too.
6. Boise, ID
Boise, Idaho ranks sixth in our study. The senior labor force participation rate increased to about 21.2% in 2017 from about 16.1% in 2013. That’s a jump of approximately 5.1 percentage points. If you’re earning some extra money as a result of staying in the workforce, there are various types of investments you can consider.
7. Baton Rouge, LA (tie)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana ties with Honolulu, Hawaii for seventh place in our study. The city had a senior labor force participation rate of about 18.1% in 2013. It had gone up approximately 4.7 percentage points to about 22.9% by 2017.
7. Honolulu, HI (tie)
Honolulu, Hawaii – one of the most livable state capitals in 2019 – ties with Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the No. 7 spot in our study. The city had a senior labor force participation rate of about 16.2% in 2013. By 2017, the rate was about 20.9%, an increase of approximately 4.7 percentage points.
9. Winston-Salem, NC
Winston-Salem, North Carolina ranks ninth in our study. It had a labor force participation rate for seniors of about 18.5% in 2017, up approximately 4.6 percentage points from a total of about 13.9% in 2013.
10. Lexington, KY
Last on this list is Lexington, Kentucky. The senior labor force participation rate was about 19.9% in 2013. In 2017, it was about 24.3%, an increase of approximately 4.4 percentage points.
Data and Methodology
To rank the cities where seniors are staying in the workforce, SmartAsset analyzed data from the 100 cities in the country with the largest senior populations. Specifically, we looked at the following two factors:
- 2013 senior labor force participation rate. This is the labor force participation rate for residents aged 65 or older in 2013.
- 2017 senior labor force participation rate. This is the labor force participation rate for residents aged 65 or older in 2017.
In order to rank the cities, we calculated the difference between the 2017 and 2013 senior labor force participation rate. We ranked the cities with the largest difference first and smallest difference last.
Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2013 and 2017 1-year American Community Surveys.
Tips on Managing Your Money
- Invest in sound advice now. Working with a financial advisor now can help you save enough money so you don’t have to work unnecessarily when you are a senior. We know good advice is hard to come by. Finding the right financial advisor who fits your needs doesn’t have to be hard, though. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- Retirement forecast. Knowing what you’ll need for retirement is often the first step. Get a sense of those numbers now with SmartAsset’s free retirement calculator.
Questions about our study? Contact press@smartasset.com
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